Lately, I've been dealing with a lot of anxiety. It's been off and on and comes in varying waves of intensity. And I have to admit that it's affected my writing his year. I started out strong with an excellent method that worked for a while.
Then, I had a lot of ups and downs with my writing gigs. One major one disappeared, yet again, sending me into a spiral of not being sure what to do about it. I've managed okay, but there's also been a lot of scrambling to make up the income that has me on edge.
So, not a lot is happening in the creative department.
Recently, and forgive me that I cannot think of where, I ran across advice on how someone responded to a period of stress.
And they said that throughout their day when they recognized their typical stress response, they asked themselves: what would I be doing if I wasn't stressed? How would I respond or conduct my day if I wasn't feeling this way?
And I may be paraphrasing this terribly, but it resonated with me.
Lately, in response to my own anxiety, I ask myself: if I wasn't battling anxiety, what would my creative efforts look like?
Because a lot of the creative realm requires a stillness in our soul. A listening. And I can't do that if I'm worried about my budget spreadsheet and trying to convince the income column to increase all on its own.
Whether you are battling stress or anxiety, or simply struggling with not being in the mood to write (but wanting to despite that), think of this: how would you express your creative side if anxiety/stress/anti-creative moods weren't on the table?
Then go ahead and create. In a way, you'll be writing in spite of how you are feeling and not because of it.
Now, it's time for me to go on and take my own advice.
Nicole Pyles is a writer living in Portland, Oregon. Her writing has appeared in Sky Island Journal, Arlington Literary Journal, The Voices Project, The Ocotillo Review, and Gold Man Review. A poem of hers was also featured in the anthology DEAR LEADERS TALES. Her short story, “The Mannequin of Lot 18,” was nominated for Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy for 2024. Since she’s not active on social media very much, stay in touch by following her writing blog at World of My Imagination or her Substack, Nicole Writes About Stuff.
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